Join us for coffee and brunch this coming Sunday 29 January, at The Playhouse, St John’s Street Colchester, starting at 11.00am. If you’ve ever wondered what we’re all about, come along and ask us. Between the bacon and fried bread, we’ll try and give you some sensible answers! Bring a friend too. Email or phone 01206 622712 for more info.

This guy lives in Malawi, south eastern Africa, and he’s pretty pleased because he’s just been prescribed some glasses. He got them at a mission hospital, but could not have afforded them from an optometrist in the nearest city. Glasses such as these have been donated by people in the Colchester area, and we collect them in partnership with Focus on Malawi.

We’ve had loads more donated in the past two months, so they need to be checked, cleaned, measured and labelled. And we’d love you to help us do this by coming to our next Goggle Works party. It will be on Friday, 24 February, at 7.30pm.

Full training provided (it’s very simple, really) and to help the evening along, there will be plenty of coffee, tasty Africa-style nibbles, and even the odd bottle of wine! For more details, email Sue.

Our home group starts again next week on Tuesday 3 January. We’ll be meeting weekly on Tuesdays from then on.

Home groups are the one of the essential ingredients of Vineyard churches: it’s where we make good friends, learn more about what it means to follow Jesus, and try putting that into practice through worship and action. And there’s time for coffee, cake, and catching up on news!

In the coming weeks, we’re going to be looking at the “I am” statements of Jesus. Phone 01206 622712 or email colchestervineyard@ymail.com for more info.

Join us for coffee and brunch on Sunday 29 January, at The Playhouse, St John’s Street Colchester, starting at 11.00am. Bring along friends and family! Email for more info.

According to the Guardian website, philosopher and author Alain de Botton is soon to publish Religion for Atheists. This title piqued my interest! Here’s what the Guardian‘s blurb says: “(de Botton) argues that the supernatural claims of religion are of course entirely false – and yet that religions still have important things to teach the secular world. This book proposes that we should look to religions for insights into how to build a sense of community, make our relationships last, overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, and more.”

De Botton’s insights on ideas, work, travel, architecture, status, relationships, airports and – almost anything! – are great, so I’m looking forward to reading this book. If the blurb is a good guide, I guess believers could take it as a nice compliment. However, to dismiss the possibility of the very motivation for the benefits and qualities of faith – a loving, creator God – does seem sad. (JK)

Today’s sunny skies and almost warm sun provided the perfect climate for a walk on the Naze at Walton. Surprised to see how much of the cliff has fallen recently, but the impressive new Crag Walk looks set to make the Naze Tower safe for a good while. Then headed for Yates in town for some excellent fish and chips, which we ate on the beach.

On Bank Holiday Monday, 2 January, we’re going for a stroll along the front at Walton (or Mersea perhaps), and aim to find someone selling fish and chips. Why not join us? Details to be firmed up yet, but probably meet up around 10.30am and finish by around 3.30pm. Phone 01206 622712 or email colchestervineyard@ymail.com if you’re interested.

Thanks to all who came to the packed-out carol party, and made it such fun. Thanks especially to everyone who helped set up, who brought stuff, served stuff, who led carols and who washed up.

Get warmed to the cockles of your heart with our mulled wine, mince pies and carol party on Wednesday 21 December at 8pm. It’ll be relaxed and informal. Bring friends and family. Phone 01206 622712 for more details or email us.

Find out more about Colchester Vineyard: join us for coffee and brunch on Sunday 11 December, at The Playhouse, St John’s Street Colchester, starting at 11.00am. Bring along friends and family! Email for more info.

Thanks to all who helped with preparing glasses for needy people at the Focus on Malawi Goggleworks evening on Friday 25 November. We broke all records, with 261 measured. Congratulations everyone!

On Saturday 19 November we’ll be heading for ‘Closer’ at Dartford (Gateway Vineyard, Dartford) to join with other Vineyards in the Essex and Kent area in worship. Do contact us if you’d like to know more or are interested in coming.

Find out more about Colchester Vineyard: join us for coffee and brunch on Sunday 6 November, at The Playhouse, St John’s Street Colchester, starting at 11.00am. Bring along friends and family! Email for more info.

CEOs getting richer, crumbling currencies, rising unemployment, protesters camping out – it’s enough to tempt religious people to hide from the world and dream of heaven.

That is, if you don’t happen to run a large cathedral at the centre of the City of London. Here the staff have been struggling with the incarnation – the fact that God became human in Jesus in order to put the world to rights – and what that means in the middle of human conflict.

Dr Giles Fraser, canon chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, has just resigned over the matter because, among other things, he could not be party to the possible violent dispersion of the Occupy LSX campers outside. Some have consequently said unkind things about him.

But those who pour scorn on Christians who ask awkward questions about prevailing powers need to look a bit harder at what the ‘way of Jesus’ is all about. When the early Christians proclaimed “Jesus is Lord” they also meant the emperor wasn’t.

That means today, depending where you live in the world, the state isn’t, the party isn’t, the market isn’t, the media isn’t, the president-for-life isn’t.

Challenging such upstart lords can be costly, as the early followers of Jesus found out. It can also be confusing, because issues are seldom clear cut or easy to resolve (as the canon chancellor explains in this Guardian interview). And, of course, none of us is perfect.

But whether we worship in a cathedral or in a house, we can’t avoid getting involved in this imperfect world: it’s what Jesus did and it’s why we’re asked to pray for, and work for God’s will to be done on earth.

Many thanks to all those who gathered on Friday 21 October to sort and measure glasses for Africa. We measured 250 – a new record for one evening! These will soon be sent on their way for dispensing to needy people in northern Malawi, through Focus on Malawi.